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← 13.05.2018 14.05.2018 The International Training Program of Climate and Environment Change on "The Belt and Road" began on Monday, the 14th of May at the Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IEECAS) with an Opening Ceremony, some speeches and a group photo. We were apprised that the 19 participants had been selected from 9 different countries (India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand and Uzbekistan), out of about a hundred applicants. There were going to be some very interesting lectures by eminent, globally acclaimed scientists, and we were also going to be taken to a few quite exciting field trips. All in all, I was thrilled! After an introduction by all the attendees, we were taken for a visit to the labs at IEECAS, and this was the part which simply blew my mind. I will not go into lengthy but arcane descriptions of the high-end instrumentation available at IEECAS, but I will state that while ...

← 12.05.2018 13.05.2018 I spent the next day wandering around the City Center with my Nepali colleagues who fast became my friends! :) L to R: Rajesh, Ram Hari, me and Ishwar [May have been my bias towards Hindi speaking people! But they're also very sweet people.] The Xi'an City Wall was built in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty under the rule of Emperor Zhu Yuanz, and remains incredibly well preserved. It affords breathtaking views of the city, and has very interesting architecture and beauty of its own.       Here is a cute map/infographic about the Xi'an City Wall, which I found at the Travel China Guide website  (good page!): We drove around on tandem cycles! If you're in Xi'an for at least a day, I sincerely suggest you visit the City Wall, preferably on a rented bike. The Wall is quite long (about 14 km., encloses about 36 sq. km. of the city) and is quite difficult to completely see on foot. Plus, I expect it to get...